Though Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag used the same naval mechanics established in Assassin’s Creed III, director Ashraf Ismail insists that despite the popularity of certain gameplay features, it’s ultimately the setting which dictates the gameplay we see in Assassin’s Creed.

Speaking to IGN at the recent BAFTA Awards, Ismail stated that, “With Assassin’s Creed we always say that history is our playground. When we chose the pirate setting, obviously it meant naval battles had to be a core element of the game. The questions are always about what time periods we go into, but that’s a decision based on whether these time periods are interesting for fans, interesting for us as developers, and what it’d mean for the game mechanics.

“We don’t bind ourselves to game mechanics, but we really look at what is interesting historically speaking, and what game mechanics that naturally brings up. Hopefully then, the fans love and enjoy it. I can’t really talk about the future of the brand or where it’s going, I won’t even acknowledge that a game is in the works.

Ismail didn’t confirm whether this means we’ll never naval battles again but including them in AC4 definitely paid off. “It was a risk for us to make it part of the core of an Assassin’s game, but people really took to it and loved it, which is really gratifying for us. Whatever period in time we choose, that’s what dictates the kind of mechanics we put in the game, not the other way around.”

It’s currently rumoured that Ubisoft will announce the next Assassin’s Creed in the months leading up to E3. It’s usually been the case in the past few years, so why not? Stay tuned for more.

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us may have swept Game of the Year Awards for various publications (including our own) along with the recent D.I.C.E. Awards but it’s not done asserting its aesthetic dominance just yet. The latest news on the BAFTA UK game awards has revealed that the game has been nominated in 10 categories.

They include Action & Adventure, Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Multiplayer, Music and Story. There are also two Performer nominees for Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker for their vocal performances of Ellie and Joel respectively.

Other games include Grand Theft Auto 5, which has 9 nominations and PS Vita platformer Tearaway which has been nominated for 8 awards. In total, 43 games have been nominated for awards in 17 different categories and include indie hits like Papers Please which has four nominations.

The BAFTA Awards take place on March 12th. Which game will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments below.

BAFTA awards are UK’s prestigious game awards, and we have the Audience Award short-list and the panel who selected these games.

The list is pretty predictable and features some heavy hitters at the some, which includes Batman: Arkham City – made by an UK studio. Arkham Asylum won the BAFTA awards in 2009 over Uncharted 2, and it was a close shave.

Check out the complete short-list and panel list. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Full shortlist:

• Batman: Arkham City

• Battlefield 3

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

• FIFA 12

• L.A. Noire

• Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

• Minecraft

• Portal 2

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

• Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception

The BAFTA Panel: 

• Guy Cocker – Gamespot

• Jon Hicks – Official Xbox Magazine

• Neil Long – Official Nintendo Magazine

• Johnny Minkley – Eurogamer

• Alex Simmons – IGN

• Jonathan Pile – Shortlist

• Tim Clark – Future Publishing

• Tom Cassel – The Syndicate Project

• Jason Bradbury – The Gadget Show

• Michael Underwood – TV presenter and tech enthusiast